Andrew McGill has an errant box of chicken wings to thank for the origin of his Atlanta pop-up, A Golden Apple.
The Righteous Room, where McGill was working while trying to build his private dinner and catering business Eris Private Dining, mistakenly received a box of full wings instead of drums and flats.
“They offered the box to me, and I just took it and ran with it,” McGill said. He launched his first pop-up in April 2023 at Little’s Food Store in Cabbagetown, and made appearances there every Monday for seven months. He’s since taken A Golden Apple to spots like Bookhouse Pub, Punk Foodie at Ponce City Market, Star Community Bar and ToneArm in Decatur.
The pop-up is named for the fruit thrown by Eris, the Greek goddess of chaos and discord, that started the Trojan War. “Some people would say it’s foolish to name your business after a goddess of chaos and discord, but I shoo those people away,” he said.
McGill, a metro Atlanta native, took a circuitous route to a career as a cook. A classically trained actor who has run theater companies and appeared on stages around town including 7 Stages in Little Five Points, he said cooking was always a passion that he turned into a job once he realized he needed another source of income.
Though his mother shooed him out of the kitchen for regular dinners when he was younger, he picked up some tips and tricks from her through the years and was tasked with cooking for bigger family events.
“The kitchen was her domain, but she put me on the road to having an elevated palate,” he said. “When I found out other kids weren’t eating duck a la orange for dinner most nights, I was confused. I ordered lamb chops medium-rare when I was 8 years old.”
Credit: Courtesy of A Golden Apple
Credit: Courtesy of A Golden Apple
He started out in the kitchen at Holy Taco in East Atlanta before moving around the corner to Argosy, where he cut his teeth under the tutelage of chefs Michael Person and Tyler Haake. He also spent time at a restaurant in Oregon during the pandemic while working with a theater company before returning to Atlanta in late 2022.
He said working in theater and working in a kitchen use surprisingly similar skill sets.
“Working on the line in a kitchen is all about thinking on your feet, and being able to do multiple things at once,” he said. “And when an actor’s on stage, they have to have the entire book in their head, where they’re supposed to be, and the action that they’re taking, and do it with a smile on their face. With both, you have to keep pushing forward, no matter what happens.”
The chicken wings McGill started his pop-up with set the tone for the food he typically serves with A Golden Apple. He riffed on sauces he’d made in the past, mashing up sweet, fruity ingredients with savory items, and came away with a mandarin serrano variety to use on the wings that still make regular appearances on the Golden Apple menu.
They’re braised overnight and fried in a light vodka-based batter that keeps them from forming gluten, resulting in a “super crispy, double-fried, tender wing that’s half Korean and half Southern,” he said.
Though the menu changes frequently, McGill said the overarching theme is global food translated into the American South. Top sellers include the Southern Chimichanga, a fried burrito filled with collard greens and pulled pork and covered in pimento cheese sauce and an herb salad, and a Cajun dirty fried rice with Southern furikake that uses powdered butter as its base.
Credit: Courtesy of A Golden Apple
Credit: Courtesy of A Golden Apple
“I look at working peoples’ food from across the world,” he said. “I take that concept and find where the similarities are in Southern cuisine and try to match them.” For instance, if a Chinese or Thai dish calls for braised mustard greens, he’ll sub in collard greens instead.
He also tries to tailor menus to specific events. For a recent catering gig for a showing of the science fiction play “True North” at 7 Stages, he presented round foods; for a Valentine’s Day dinner at Bookhouse Pub, he made the classic French dish coq au vin. He’s also dabbled in breakfast offerings with a biscuit pop-up at Java Lords and brunch at Punk Foodie at Ponce with breakfast sandwiches, French toast and patty melts.
Though he’s finding success with A Golden Apple, he doesn’t plan to expand into a brick-and-mortar anytime soon.
“Brick-and-mortars are for investors,” he said. “And that’s what I love about the pop-up scene in Atlanta. It’s cooks taking the reins and showing people what kitchens should be and making it nicer, not being beholden to investors. If I ever do a brick-and-mortar, it’ll be something with a theater.”
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